Unmasking the POTO: My Film Aesthetic's Essay
by RachyBaby09
Summary: Behold: my film aesthetic's final! Here I've analyzed the various elements in the 2004 Phantom of the Opera film, proving that it's compelling & beautiful...


_a/n: Here I present to you my film aesthetics's final! I had to write a 10 page essay which analyzed the various elements of a movie. And what better movie than the Phantom of the Opera? A lot of the work was already done...considering I've been writing about it for some time now! Hehehe. As always, all comments are greatly appreciated and taken to heart!_

_**7/15/10 - I got an A! :) **_

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_Unmasking the Phantom of the Opera_

_The Phantom of the Opera_ (2004) seamlessly combines the principle elements of film, ultimately producing a masterpiece which is emotionally and aesthetically effective. It is a tender story, driven by emotions and manipulated perceptions; the film's artistic and structural design is based off of this concept. The nineteenth century film world is visually stunning, and a breathtaking balance between fantasy and realism. The mise en scène is surreal and intimate, consistently mirroring the central characters' deepest desires and darkest fears. The sound design is emotionally compelling and critical to the film's overall success; it empowers and unifies the narrative and visual aspects, preventing the story from appearing daft or melodramatic. Character perspective and point of view directly affects the editing, resulting in a style which is subtle, yet often hypnagogic and disorienting. Naturalistic acting transforms the personas of the characters—which, by their very designs, are inherently elaborate and unrealistic—making them believable. All of the aesthetic elements exist in a flawless harmony. They work together to strengthen the story's underlying themes: passion and music.

Mise en scène blends the visual aspects of film to create a convincing world. It secures the fourth wall, allowing the audience to escape and immerse themselves within a foreign realm. This is especially true for _the Phantom of the Opera_, since it is adapted from a stage play. Andrew Lloyd Webber (the composer and original creator) and Joel Schumacher (the director) join together to produce an epic and powerful work of art. The advantages of film allow for a deepened intimacy between the story and audience; it captures elements which live theater could not possibly show. These subtle additions make a significant impact on the film's narrative.

In mesa en scène, the set design and costumes are crucial in establishing the time period and tone. Attention to detail enhances the atmosphere, making it richer and more dynamic. It is no wonder that _the Phantom of the Opera _is often celebrated for its superior production and sound design. The presentation of the film world is detailed, imaginative, and thoughtful. The careful selection of props, costumes, and scenery heighten the film's meaning and add intense emotional layers. The world is constructed to appear as a fantasy, yet an overwhelming sense of realism is always present.

Within the Phantom's underground labyrinth, all of the props and set decorations represent his character and work to bring his passionate spirit to life. Words are unneeded; his affection for Christine Daaé is visually communicated throughout his home. Countless compositions depict the Phantom's artistic genius, symbolize his and Christine's unearthly connection, and express their shared love for music. The many drawings illustrate his dangerous obsession and voyeuristic existence in Christine's life. The disturbingly lifelike mannequin, dressed in a wedding gown, portrays his internal motives and inspires a feeling of stark loneliness. In turn, this juxtaposes his behavior to his goals. The Phantom longs to make Christine his wife—yet, ironically, he lives as a ghost, transcending his existence from reality. This is what establishes the Phantom's central conflict. His external obstacle (facial deformity) inevitably collides with his internal obstacle (distrust for humanity, alienation from society).

Elaborate props, such as the gondola and magnificent pipe organ, heighten the romance of the Phantom's lair while creating a strong sense of anti-realism. Dozens of church candelabras light the atmosphere and emphasize a fundamental concept of Gothic romance: blending the grotesque and unnatural with the beautiful and desirable. In turn, this reflects Christine's personal feelings for the Phantom. Her fear equals her infatuation.

Costume and makeup are essential to the portrayal of the characters, paralleling narrative elements, and creating symbolism. The characters' appearances reflect their personalities and often express they way in which they relate to one another. Christine is consistently dressed in a virginal shade of white, which is befitting to her vulnerability, youth, and chaste nature. Her makeup is always natural in the presence of Raoul, her noble childhood sweetheart. When she is seduced through the dressing room mirror, and first embarks to the Phantom's underground lair, Christine's appearance slowly transforms. Her hair falls loose and wild—rather than neatly pinned back. After several steps, she is barefoot—her heels having vanished. The white nightgown darkens to a saturated, yellowish hue. As the Phantom serenades her, her eye shadow is suddenly smoky and dramatic. This change is gradual over the course of the sequence. The further she travels underground, the sexier her appearance becomes.

On a few occasions Christine is dressed in black and red, as opposed to her characteristic white. These colors changes are metaphorical to the context of the scene. At the cemetery, when visiting her father's grave, the mourning-dress depicts a sense of personal loss and an emotional void. In turn, her likeliness to the Phantom's dark past and loneliness is made apparent. Moments before the film's climax, when she and the Phantom perform "the point of no return," Christine is in a sultry, red costume; her innocence is breached, as she becomes a victim of unbridled and raw passion. A major plot reversal occurs. Her external and internal desires collide, as she is ensnared by the same trap, which she, Raoul, and the opera house's managers had constructed for the Phantom.

The Phantom's wardrobe is essential to how he is perceived. He is seen only in the color black, which juxtaposes Christine's innocence and mirrors his own darkness. The white demi-mask conceals his deformity, representing his acquired persona as Opera Populaire's Phantom. Meg Giry, a secondary character—whose main purpose is to provide back-story for Christine—discovers his mask shortly after Christine is released by the Phantom. The solitary mask is metaphorical; the Phantom had been redeemed. Christine's kiss had resurrected his humanity; both spiritually and physically, she freed him from the phantasmal façade which had enslaved his spirit.

Sound serves multiple functions to a film; it inspires emotions, creates tension, gives depth, and expands the spatial dynamic. Sound is imperative to a film's effect on an audience physically and psychologically. _The Phantom of the Opera's _very premise is founded on music. It is a character in itself. The stylized music supports realistic and tangible emotion. The themes, characters, and story are all joined through the music. They exist as a unified whole—not individually. _The Phantom of the Opera_ is structured as a play, which returns the narrative to its Aristotelian origins. In regards to form and content, it can be classified as both a musical and tragedy. Aristotle's definition of tragedy: "A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in a dramatic, not a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions."

The three, central characters can be indentified with musical motifs. The Phantom is represented by harsh organ music. Christine is often accompanied by a soft and delicate violin tune. Raoul's theme is equally gentle. These musical arrangements help establish the characters and manipulate the audience's emotions. The Phantom's melody is first heard during the opening auction scene, as the screen time is flashed back thirty-five years; it is jarring and sudden, successfully setting an ominous mood and tone. It provides a transition in time (flashback) and effectively sets the film's overall pace and rhythm.

The power of the musical score largely derives from how it is used within the context of the scenes. Christine sings "think of me," a tune which sounds close to a lullaby, when she is first introduced. Raoul is accompanied by the same music. The "masquerade" lyrics are sung several times by different characters. The meaning of the words is entirely dependent on who recites them. At the New Year's celebration, the song represents oblivion and a sense of false solace for the entire cast. When the Phantom sings it to himself, after freeing Christine, it is tragic and heartbreaking. The words symbolize his existence to humanity. "Masquerade, paper faces on parade, masquerade. Hide your face so the world will never find you."

The music often foreshadows events and heightens the suspense and emotion. This is utilized during the carriage ride to the cemetery; the music begins soft and slow, intensifying as the carriage gradually approaches the cemetery. Christine expresses her resentment for the Phantom after he forces her to make the ultimate choice: "Start a new life with me, buy his freedom (Raoul's) with your love—refuse me and you send your lover to his death." In response, Christine cries out, "The tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold and turn to tears of hate." Her dialogue, which is sung without accompaniment, is followed by a dramatic musical swell. All of the Phantom's desperation and pain can be felt through the rising power of the crescendo. The three characters sing a trio, as the Phantom strangles Raoul in front of Christine. The overlapping vocals heighten the chaos, creating a strong sense of hopelessness, total loss of control, and despair.

Editing is essential for establishing a film's rhythm and pace. Various techniques are used to achieve different reactions and emotions; discontinuous editing disorients and distances the audience, while continuous editing—the classical Hollywood standard—is unobtrusive and supports the audience's suspension of disbelief.

_The Phantom of the Opera's_ editing style varies from scene to scene, though it never strays far from the Classic Hollywood form. It is determined by character perspective and the onscreen action. A series of quick shots, which shift between Raoul and Christine, establish an infantile bond and imminent romance. In contrast, Christine is shown in a wide, high-angled shot as she is scolded by the Phantom; she is inferior, small, vulnerable, and lost within the power of his voice. Moments later, dissolve transitions reflect her emotional state, as she is taken through the dressing room mirror. It gives the scene an intense dreamlike, fantasy quality. The shots are long and tedious when the Phantom sings "music of the night." They compliment the slow melody, arousing sensuality and an anticipation/suspense.

The acting performances and the presentation of the characters are critical to _the Phantom of the Opera._ The characters are portrayed with a naturalistic style, making them identifiable and real. Musicals can easily appear daft; breaking out in song is unnatural and often distances the audience from the narrative. Similarly, _the Phantom of the Opera's _characters are eccentric by their designs. The Phantom is a ghostly legend who dwells beneath the opera house, where his home is an underground kingdom. Christine is presented as the polar opposite of the Phantom. His love for her creates immediate conflict; Christine is adored, youthful, and physically beautiful. Her simple soul has led her to believe that the Phantom is an "angel of music" who has been sent by her late father. Raoul is the Phantom's perfect rival, and Christine's ideal love inertest. The Phantom is alienated and feared; Raoul is a dashing and elite member of high society.

Gerard Butler's realistic and dedicated portrayal of the Phantom ultimately humanizes the film. His character is a symbol of power and control; the Phantom controls Christine with the power of his voice, prevents Raoul from winning her love, and manipulates the entire opera house with his menace. His affection for Christine reflects a universal desire: the need to love and be loved. She is his weakness. His longing for human acceptance and understanding removes his power. It is Christine's public betrayal which inevitably reverses the plot—making the Phantom a victim and the prey. Gerard is a method actor; in an interview, he was asked how he could relate to someone who was physically deformed. His response mirrors the beauty and style of his performance: "I used the physical deformity internally. I think it represented emotional deformities; things inside ourselves which don't allow us fully to be open to love or to be loved. It was an interior journey into my own dark spaces. I identified with the pain, loneliness, fear, and vulnerability."

Emmy Rossum is Christine Daaé. She expresses the character's youth, vulnerability, and heartache without contrived effort. In certain performances of the stage play, the character is often perceived as indecisive, stupid, and selfish. Her affection constantly wavers between Raoul and the Phantom. During the climax, she exploits the Phantom's fatal flaw and confirms humanity's heartlessness. Frightened by her mutual desires, Christine chooses to betray the Phantom—rather than confront her awakened womanhood. All of Emmy's emotions and pure intentions are spoken through the intensity of her eyes. The Phantom bursts into violent rage when she unmasks him in his lair. She cowers in fear, frightened by his madness. The emotion in her eyes slowly transform from fear, to pity, to a combination of compassion and love. Christine's sincerity radiates through Emmy's performance. Like Gerard, Emmy approached the role with method-style acting. In an interview, she described how she prepared for the role: "I went through the script and analyzed it in terms of everything she's feeling and saw if I had any experiences in my life that were similar. If I didn't, I went and created them. I'm just the kind of actor who can't work without past memories. It's just not real for me otherwise."

Gerard Butler's and Emmy Rossum's chemistry is electrifying. An unspoken, palpable tension wallows between the two characters, which significantly complicates Christine and the Phantom's dynamic. Their vast age difference is essential for building tension and star-crossing their romance. Emmy was casted at sixteen, turning seventeen just before the film went into post-production; Gerard was thirty-five.

Unlike Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson came from a background in Broadway. He was a classically trained singer, and _the Phantom of the Opera_ served as his breakthrough role in feature film. Despite his theater origins, Patrick's performance is surprisingly subtle.

_The Phantom of the Opera_ is a story which has been adapted for countless mediums and continues to be retold. The tale has fascinated the world for over a century. Its psychological implications are immense and wide in scope. _The Phantom of the Opera_ is a story which offers an emotionally potent experience for every person. Gaston Leroux's novel was written as primarily a mystery and melodramatic horror story; when Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted Leroux's work, the romance was fully unmasked. The characters were given greater dimensions. Together, through the magic of cinema, Schumacher and Webber further humanized the Phantom and his world. The Phantom is classified as a Byronic hero; he is the protagonist and antagonist, amoral, and manipulated by his own imperfections. He represents a seamless spectrum of varying human emotion. Despite all of the Phantom's fatal flaws, in the end, the goodness in his heart ultimately redeems his character. It is remarkable how one story can be understood in so many diverse ways; this is the true beauty of _the Phantom of the Opera_. We love the Phantom because we see ourselves within his passion, desires, and spirit.


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